“Two heads are better than one”: A continuum of social change in sport management

ABSTRACT

Since the initiation of the first academic sport management program approximately 50 years ago, the efforts of countless scholars have enabled sport management to attain a strong position as an academic field. However, work within sport management oriented toward fostering social change has often taken a back seat to research that is viewed more favorably by commercial interests in sport. In the current paper, we present a model for bridging the theory-practice divide by conceptualizing social change as a continuum of actions that span across the disciplinary, institutional, and individual levels and involve strategies ranging from pragmatic to possible. Ultimately, we argue that the current moment is ripe for sport management scholars to center social change in their work, seeking critical engagement with a broad range of practitioners and stakeholders to help sport management better serve all sectors of the population.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Sport management has achieved a strong position as an academic field.

• Sport management scholars have tended to focus on elite, commercialized sport.

• Scholarship that fosters social change has been marginal in the field.

• Many scholars voice concern about sport management’s lack of impact on sport.

• Centering social change can help scholars bridge the theory-practice divide.

KEYWORDS:

• Social justice
• Theory
• Praxis